The Terminator Timeline
by SandwichesHinderProgress
Summary: An in-depth analysis of how time travel may have changed certain events such as various Judgment Days in the Terminator franchise. Rated T for Terminator.
1. Introduction

**The Terminator Timeline**

There are many dates and events that take place withing the _Terminator_ franchise. Even the movies and TV series alone have caused a lot of confusion among fans trying to piece together decent explanations for why things happen differently in various stories. I am not really familiar with all of the stories that happen beyond the movies and TV series, so I mainly relied on the Terminator Wiki when I was trying to think of explanations for all of the contradictions. The purpose of this timeline is to help others who gain major headaches whenever they come across various _Terminator_ video games, comics, and novels. Time travel can be used as an explanation for the long list of contradictions. Keep in mind that not every single thing is explained in as much detail as possible. If I ever find out something new that could benefit this timeline (future games, books, comics, and films) then I will update this. Now, begin reading _The Terminator Timeline_ very carefully...


	2. Judgment Day 1995 and RoboCop

**Conflicting Dates  
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A comic series called _The Terminator: Tempest_ states that events in those comics take place in 1990. This was later changed when a later series stated that the events were taking place in 1984, around the time that John Connor would have been born. John Connor could have been born 1990-1991. This could have been changed later on due to time travel. According to the Bethesda Softworks video game _The Terminator: Future Shock_, which takes place in 2015, Judgment Day takes place in 1995, rather than the original 1997 date specified in the films. It would make sense for the 1995 Judgment Day to have happened first and then having it postponed. How exactly? The solution I thought of was _RoboCop Versus The Terminator_.

**RoboCop Versus The Terminator**

There are three versions of _RoboCop Versus The Terminator_. There is the 1992 comic series, the 1995 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis video game, and the 1995 Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game. I think that the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis video game could have happened first. It begins years after RoboCop was invented in 1990 or 1991. SAC-NORAD contracts Cyberdyne Systems into building Skynet using RoboCop's technology. Years after Skynet becomes self-aware and launches it's attack against the humans, several Terminators are sent back in time to cripple the Resistance. RoboCop defeats the Terminators, RoboCain, and an ED-209 reprogrammed by Terminators. RoboCop plugs himself into a console in the OCP building and unknowingly gives Skynet information. RoboCop falls into a trap and then assembles himself in the future, where he battles Terminators and defeats Skynet.

Before the destruction of Skynet, a Resistance soldier named Flo could have been sent back in time when the Resistance found out that the cybernetic technology used to make RoboCop was used to make Skynet, as shown in the SNES version of the game. When Flo gets to the 1990s, he tries to kill RoboCop. However, Skynet has sent Terminators to stop Flo. After RoboCop meets Flo, he fights the Terminators and defeats them. He plugs himself into a console in the OCP building to to reprogram security, but he ends up being digitalized. His body is disassembled and used for building Skynet. In the future, RoboCop rebuilds himself and destroys the Skynet CPU.

Before the destruction of Skynet in that timeline, a different soldier could have gone back in time to kill RoboCop a few years before Flo would have appeared, changing the events so that they match with comic series. Terminators are sent back in time to protect RoboCop. Once RoboCop finds out that his technology took part in the creation of Skynet, his human consciousness waits for decades in Skynet's "consciousness". In the future, he assembles a Terminator body that resembles his own. After helping Resistance soldiers, RoboCop goes back in time and destroys the earliest iteration of Skynet, which is a spy satellite. This version of RoboCop vanishes since he would not have existed without without Skynet. The events of the _RoboCop_ franchise that do not have anything to do with Skynet take place. The destruction of the spy satellite may have postponed Judgment Day to August 29, 1997.

**Notes On The RoboCop Timeline**

The comic series never states how long after the _RoboCop_ film it takes place, or whether the events of the first sequel have taken place. _RoboCop 3_ was released the year after the 1992 crossover comic series. We know that Alex Murphy died in 1990, as evidenced by the TV series _RoboCop: Prime Directives_, which takes place in August 2000. _RoboCop: The Animated Series_ takes place between _RoboCop_ and _RoboCop 2_, so it could take place as early as 1991. The year that _RoboCop: The Series_ takes place in is not given. All that we know is that it takes place in "The Near Future". Since that TV series came out in 1994, it would make sense for it to take place as early as 1995 and before _Prime Directives_. In _The Series_, character names were changed due to copyright issues. Maybe those changed names were really their middle names. In _Prime Directives_, people don't seen to know that Alex Murphy is RoboCop. Perhaps someone invented a memory erasing device? There was another animated series called _RoboCop: Alpha Commando_, which takes place in 2030. In the show, RoboCop is activated for the first time in five years. For some reason, Murphy's son appears to be the same age he was during the events of the first film. Perhaps someone took his son forward in time? The events of this TV series would only be possible in a timeline where the War Against the Machines ends early. The events of _Prime Directives_ would not be possible in timelines where Judgment Day takes place in 1995 or 1997.**  
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	3. Judgment Day 1997

**Changing Years**

Now, back to _The Terminator: Tempest_. As I mentioned before, the events of this comic series originally took place in 1990. Mary Randall leads a nine-man squad from the future so that they may complete a mission. At the end of this comic series, the surviving members of the squad discover the remains of the T-800 that was destroyed by Sarah Connor (born 1965) after John Connor was conceived. The storyline in _Tempest_ continues in _Secondary Objectives_, _The Enemy Within_, and _End Game_. While the latter series is said to begin September 30, 1984, certain events in the story could have taken place in the timeline where these comics take place in 1990. John Connor would have been born 1990-1991.

In the future, the T-800 could have been sent back in time to 1984, six years before John Connor would have been conceived. Kyle Reese would have had to follow the T-800 back to this year. This could have made some changes in the future, such as Mary Randall's squad being sent back to 1984 instead of 1990. This change may have made the events of the comics _The Terminator: 2029_ and _The Terminator: 1984_ possible. In 2029, Kyle Reese has a friend named Ben, and they go back in time to 1984 together. Some other changes could have cause Kyle Reese to conceive a daughter instead of a son. Jane Connor was born October 4, 1984 in _End Game_. Her birth causes a Terminator sent to kill John Connor to disappear. Later, she leads the Resistance and destroys Skynet earlier than it would have if RoboCop had waited for decades to destroy Skynet.

**The Terminator**

Since Jane would have to have been conceived by Kyle Reese, she may have sent him back in time to protect Sarah Connor. If she sent him back during a year that was different from 2029, this may have caused Kyle to do things differently. In other words, he could have conceived John Connor instead of Jane. Jane would not have ended the war early in this timeline. In this timeline, the events of the two-part comic series _The Terminator: All My Future's_ take place, and Ben is not with Kyle when he goes to May 12, 1984 for the events of _The Terminator_. Shortly the T-800 Model 101 arrives, the events of a comic called _The Terminator: One Shot_ begin. In this comic, a red-headed female model T-800 known as The Amazon goes to 1984. She tracks down a different Sarah Connor who is trying to murder her artist husband Michael, with the help of her murder accomplice Alex Gander. An aged Resistance fighter named Ellis Ruggles, who was sent to 1955 in case another Terminator was sent to kill Sarah, protects Sarah and Michael. He is accompanied by a monkey named Peanut. The Amazon ends up mortally wounding Ellis, but he uses his only shot to disable The Amazon. Sarah almost kills Michael, but The Amazon grabs her leg and pulls her into the water. Michael Connor and Peanut the monkey survive.

Those events happened during _The Terminator_. He tells John's mother Sarah Connor that Judgment Day is on August 29, 1984. He protects her and conceives John Connor. Kyle and the T-800 die on May 14, 1984. On November 10, 1984, a Mexican boy takes a picture of Sarah Connor. This is later given to Kyle Reese before he goes back in time. John Connor is born February 28, 1985.


	4. Judgment Day 2005

**Stopping Judgment Day**

Knowing what Kyle told her about the future, Sarah Connor tries to stop the 1997 Judgment Day from happening. She is sent to a mental institution, and John Connor lives with a foster family. He becomes a rebellious kid. On June 8, 1995, a T-1000 comes from the future to kill John Connor. A reprogrammed T-800 is sent back to protect him. Sarah Connor breaks out of the mental institution and meets up with John and the T-800. On June 9, 1995, Miles Dyson dies helping the Connors. The T-1000, the remains of the T-800 that tried to kill Sarah Connor in 1984, and the T-800 that protected John are destroyed in a Cyberdyne building.

In the alternate ending of _Terminator 2: Judgement Day_, John and Sarah have stopped Judgment Day. In the year 2027, John Connor is a senator and has a young daughter who appears to be around four or five years old. It is unknown whether or not she was named Kyla like in the novels _Terminator Dreams_ and _Terminator Hunt_, where she would be older around this time. Kyle Reese should have been sent back in time to conceive John Connor. If time travel was impossible in 2029, then time may have reversed itself back to 1995, with things happening differently.

**21st Century After Postponing Judgment Day**

In S.M. Stirling's novel_, T2: Infiltrator_, John and Sarah move to Paraguay after the events of _Terminator 2: Judgment Day_. In 2001, they meet an former CIA agents named Dieter von Rossbach, an Austrian man who resembles the T-800 that they had seen before. He forms a friendship with them and helps them when an I-950 named Serena Burns comes from the year 2029. Serena creates Clea Bennet and Alissa. In the sequel, _T2: Rising Storm_, John's love interest Wendy Dorset creates two computer programs that she believes will stop Skynet from ever being made. She is killed by Clea, who in turn is killed by John and Dieter. When John uploads the first program, Skynet is brought to life. The last novel in the trilogy, _T2: The Future War_, begins in 2003, when Skynet begins making installations. Judgment Day takes place in 2005. Katherine Brewster is absent in this novel. Since _Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines_ takes place in 2004, and those events don't happen in this timeline, it can be assumed that Kate married her fiance Scott and then died when the machines took over. If she survived, then she did not meet John during the events of this book.

In 2006, Dennis Reese and Mary Shea conceive Kyle Reese, who is born nine months later. In 2013, Dennis and Mary work as slaves in a death camp. In 2016, Kyle watches his parents get killed. John Connor finds Kyle and says, "Come with me if you want to live." A second Judgment Day commences during this year. Kyle starts serving the Resistance alongside his buddy Jesse in 2023. In 2025, John gives Kyle the photo of Sarah Connor from 1984. In 2029, Dieter and Sarah are still alive when Kyle Reese is sent back in time to protect Sarah.


	5. Judgment Day 2004 and 2003

**More Time Travel**

In the future, people may have been sent back to a time after _Terminator 2: Judgment Day_ to set the events of _Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles_ in motion. These books by Russell Blackford are _Dark Futures_, _An Evil Hour_, and _Times of Trouble_. They are followed by the Mark W. Tiedemann book _Terminator 2: Hour of the Wolf_. These events may have prevented the events of the _T2_ novel trilogy from taking place.

Later on, other changes may have occurred, such as those people not going back in time. Instead, in the comic series _Terminator 2: Cybernetic Dawn_, two T-800s and a T-1000 are sent back to 1995 to preserve the creation of Skynet. _Terminator 2 3-D: Battle Across Time_ could have taken place in this timeline. In 1996, John and Sarah warn people taking a Cyberdyne tour about Judgment day. A reprogrammed T-800 takes John to 2029, where he destroys the T-1000000. John is sent back to his time. In 2029, the comic series _Terminator 2: Nuclear Twilight_ takes place.

**New Judgment Day Dates**

The T-800 from the first film may have been sent back in time months before John's conception. Kyle Reese would have protected Sarah Connor in and conceived John in 1983. According to _Terminator 3: The Redemption_, John is born May 3, 1984. For some reason, the changes make the events of _Terminator 2: Judgment Day_ take place June 8-9, 1997 in this timeline, when John is thirteen years old. John meets Katherine Brewster (born February 21, 1978) on June 7. Sarah may have been out of the mental institution in 1995, two years before these events take place. She dies from leukemia and her ashes are scattered. She was not born in 1959. She might have said that she was to protect her identity. It is also possible that the 1997 death date was wrong. A T-850 from the year 2033 protects John and Kate when a T-X is sent back and Judgment Day commences on July 25, 2004 in _Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines_. In 2020, the mobile phone game _Terminator Revenge_ takes place. In 2029, the video game _Terminator 3: War of the Machines_ takes place. Later in the year, some time after Kyle Reese is sent to 1983, the Aaron Alston novels _Terminator 3: Terminator Dreams_ and _Terminator 3: Terminator Hunt_ take place. In these books, John and Kate have a daughter in her late-teens or early-twenties named Kyla Connor.

The video game _Terminator 3: The Redemption_ begins with the T-X going back in time to June 16, 2003 to try to kill John and Katherine (misspelled "Ketherine", probably due to some error). She may have gotten Judgment Day to happen a year earlier. The T-850 that assassinated John Connor on July 4, 2032 goes back in time to the year 2003 to protect John and Kate on Judgment Day 2003. Judgment Day happens like it did in _Rise of the Machines_.

**From Future To Past**

According to the comic series _Terminator 2: Infinity_, Katherine Brewster dies in 2008. In 2033, Skynet sends Terminators to July 17, 2009 so that they can kill John Connor. A Terminator named Uncle Bob is sent to protect John from the T-Infinity. In _Terminator: Revolution_, the T-Infinity is sent to 2015 to kill John's wife Tara Holden. John causes the TDE on the T-Infinity to malfuntion, and they end up in Alabama 1996. A twelve-year-old John is saved from T-850s by thirty-one-year-old John. The T-Infinity attacks Sarah Connor and then some T-850s. Sarah escapes and meets up with the two Johns. A Dire Wolf from 2015 goes to 1996 and kills the T-Infinity. Kyle Reese finds the Connors in 1996 and helps them. Later, the war ends in 2032. Somehow, Kyle has his own family.

Before that, however, T-800s were sent from 2029 to 1998 to terminate John Connor in the comic series _The Terminator: Death Valley_. The mission fails, and John and Sarah survive. In the next comic series, _The Terminator: The Dark Years_, a new cyborg from 2030 is sent to New Year's Eve 1999 to Terminate John Connor. The mission fails. The events of _Superman vs. The Terminator: Death to the Future_ may have taken place during this year. In that comic series, Terminators from 2032 are sent to terminate John Connor. Superman meets an aged version of Steel when he goes to 2032. In 1999, Lex Luthor believes that he will be in charge of Skynet since he invested in it and supported it. More on the DC Universe later.


	6. Judgment Day 2011

**Earlier Arrival  
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Sometime in the future, changes in the past could have been made. A T-800 could have been sent back in time a year before John's birth, possibly May 12, 1983. Kyle Reese would have protected and then conceived John Connor before he died. In this timeline, Kyle Reese is sent back from the year 2027, during the events of the video game _Terminator: Dawn of Fate_. John Connor is born on November 14, 1983, possibly pre-maturely, while Sarah Connor is in Central America. Someone from the future could have postponed Judgment Day to April 21, 2011. Sarah Connor dies from cancer in 2005. In this timeline, Kyle Reese is born a few years earlier, in 2002. He also has an older brother named Derek Reese, born 1995.

**The Sarah Connor Chronicles**

In the TV show _Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles_, a Terminator modeled after Resistance soldier Allison Young is sent back in time to protect John and Sarah from a Terminator named Cromartie in 1999, two years after the events of _Terminator 2: Judgement Day_ take place. Cameron takes John and Sarah to the year 2007. Cromartie's head also ends up in this year. John, Sarah, and Cameron make efforts to stop Judgment Day. Derek Reese comes from 2027 and helps them. James Ellison investigates events surrounding Cromartie. On November 14, 2007, Cameron malfunctions but gets fixed. Derek's girlfriend Jesse comes from a future where she and Derek were tortured by Charles Fischer, which may have been caused by Derek's changes. On November 2, 2008, Cromartie is gunned down. Ellison takes his body to Catherine Weaver's replacement, a T-1001. Cromartie is reprogrammed as John Henry. John's love interest Riley dies, Derek may have killed Jesse, and Derek dies in 2009. John Henry goes to the future with Cameron's chip. John goes with the T-1001 to the future, but nobody knows who he is in that future. He sees Derek, Kyle, and Allison.

Sadly, the TV series was canceled by those idiots at Fox, and we don't know exactly know how the series would have concluded. Did John not being known mean that he went to the future and never got back? Or did Skynet invent a machine that erased everyone's knowledge of John Connor? And did Sarah Connor die of a disease? What happened to Danny Dyson? We don't exactly know.


	7. Terminator Salvation

**Terminator Salvation**

John probably gets back in time and Sarah dies from disease. Judgment Day 2011 may have been stopped, but Terminators may have gone back in time to ensure that Judgment Day happens before John and Sarah make changes.

Marcus Wright, born August 22, 1972, receives the death sentence in 2003 at Longview State Correctional Facility, as shown in the beginning of _Terminator Salvation_. His body is donated to Cyberdyne Systems. In this timeline, Judgment Day takes place July 25, 2003 according to the Greg Cox novel _Terminator Salvation: Cold War_. This fits with the statement in the beginning of the film that says Judgement Day took place in the early 21st century. It is caused by a U.S. nuclear attack on the rest of the world. John Connor and Kate Brewster meet each other and get married.

In 2016, the _Terminator Salvation_ video game and _Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series_ take place. In 2017, the comic _Terminator Salvation: Sand in the Gears_ takes place. The comic shows how the war affects the rest of the world. From March to April 2018, the Timothy Zahn novel _Terminator Salvation: From The Ashes_ takes place. Kate Brewster reveals that she's pregnant at the end of the story. It is unknown as of now whether it is a boy or a girl, but it is different from the Kyla Connor who was born years earlier in the timeline of _Terminator Dreams_ and _Terminator Hunt_. In May, _Terminator Salvation_ takes place. Marcus wakes up as a Terminator with a human heart. He meets Kyle Reese and Star, who are taken to Skynet Central in San Francisco. Marcus helps John Connor rescue them. John fights the T-800 who gives him the scar around his eye. It is defeated, but John needs a heart transplant because of the damage that it did to him. Marcus gives him his heart and John continues to live. Zahn's novel _Terminator Salvation: Trial by Fire_ follows. John gives Barnes permission to go bury his dead brother who was killed in the lab in the film. They discover a village that seems largely untouched by Judgement Day.

As of 2011, _Terminator 5_ is in development. It may continue this timeline or create a new one. There may also be a _Terminator 6_.


End file.
